The EFC Virtual Library

The EFC Virtual Library, powered by IssueLab, includes over 900 free-to-download publications from a range of organisations and publishers, including the EFC, on the topics of philanthropy, the management of foundations and the areas they are involved in and support.
As an EFC member you can send us your publications for inclusion in the library which will also be added to the global IssueLab network where they will be made available to an extended audience, including users of Worldcat, the global catalogue used by tens of thousands of libraries.
For questions or assistance, please contact the EFC Virtual Library.

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European Foundation Centre (EFC);
Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (DAFNE);
UCD Sutherland School of Law I Belfield I Dublin 4;

The EFC and DAFNE will use the learnings of this study to kick-off joint advocacy work for Europe's philanthropic sector with the aim to maintain and develop the space for philanthropy across Europe and its positive impact on civil society.
The study stresses key dilemmas and solutions
Philanthropy remains largely outside the European treaties. Its recognition in the treaties and in European fundamental rights is needed.
Barriers to cross-border philanthropy pose a major challenge. While the freedom of capital movement prohibits foreign funding restrictions, Europe needs to move towards a European public benefit concept, non-discriminatory tax regimes and simplifying tax authority practices and providing for more information sharing tools.
National laws must be in line with European fundamental rights and EU freedoms. While the philanthropic sector uses existing protection mechanisms (e.g., via EU Treaty infringement procedures) it may be necessary to examine if these are sufficient.
EU and national efforts to counter-terrorism financing, money laundering and tax evasion, which are intended to protect the sector must be risk-based, proportionate and evidence-based. In addition, the sector and policymakers should work jointly to assess and address risks.

Closing civil society space is a growing trend, impacting civic actors in countries throughout the world. This paper examines how the trend effects development funders and actors, and how they are responding. Questions explored include: what are funders doing to engage around re-opening space for civil society? How are they adapting? What are the impacts of the development community's approach to civil society as a whole? The European Foundation Centre and the Funders' Initiative for Civil Society have come together to develop better insight into these questions and to increase awareness of the threats to civil society.

This publication, a joint effort of the European Foundation Centre (EFC) and Transnational Giving Europe (TGE), offers recommendations and ideas which could potentially ease tax-effective cross-border philanthropy in Europe. Tax experts from across Europe contributed to this publication.
Cross-border philanthropy in Europe is growing. Philanthropic organisations are both investing more across national boundaries as part of their asset management strategy, and individual and corporate donors are increasing their philanthropic giving outside of their home countries.
But the fiscal environment for cross-border philanthropy, even within the European Union, is still far from satisfactory. Although the EU's non-discrimination principle, which applies to philanthropy, some legislators and authorities still discriminate against comparable foreign EU-based philanthropic players. And processes to gain equal treatment - where they are indeed available - are burdensome, lengthy and costly.
This paper aims to highlight good and bad existing practice and to develop recommendations and ideas which could potentially lead to a simplification of the procedures for implementation of the non-discrimination principle. This is therefore not an academic paper but rather a practitioner-driven view on the matter, which will need to be further developed and discussed with fiscal experts and policymakers in the field of philanthropy taxation. The paper is hence a recommended read for legislators and authorities, as well as for philanthropists and the wider non-profit sector.
The analysis and recommendations contained in this publication follow on from a study released in 2014 bythe EFC and the Transnational Giving Europe network (TGE), "Taxation of cross-border philanthropy in Europe after Persche and Stauffer - From landlock to free movement?".

The shrinking space for civil society and reported violations to fundamental and democratic rights are a global phenomenon. Foundations and other philanthropic organisations have reported problematic laws in Algeria, China, Columbia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Russia, Syria and Zimbabwe, just to name a few. And EU countries are hardly immune. Of serious concern have been ongoing challenges to civic rights in Hungary, UK surveillance programmes, anti-protest laws in Spain, counterterrorism measures in France, and attacks in Poland on the freedom of public media and the independence of the judiciary. In this publication, a group of European Foundation Centre members working across the globe share their thoughts on and experience of the shrinking space for civil society. This publication signals the EFC's ambition to scan the landscape on developments important to its members in an effort to contribute intelligence and capture the experience of foundations to make sense of the increasingly complex and interconnected world in which we all live. The insights from foundations and other philanthropic organisations on this issue are particularly valuable as these organisations, due to their funding practice and policy work, are often ahead of the curve in terms of what's happening on the ground.

The aim of this report is to give funders and members of civil society a practical starting point for thinking about possible approaches for working together to contest the closing space for civil society. Many already have or are planning initiatives in this field. This report shares the perspectives of numerous donors, civil society representatives, and experts engaged with this issue and offers ways of aligning work moving forward. The report also offers links to resources on specific aspects of closing space.

This study compares the legal framework for fundraising in 16 European countries.The research focuses on the regulation of fundraising by CSOs, defined as soliciting voluntary philanthropic contributions from individuals, corporations and grant-making organizations.
It examines options for both statutory regulation and self-regulation.
It draws upon international legal instruments, country laws and regulations, articles and studies, and maps out a broad spectrum of issues affecting fundraising, from reporting requirements to penalties to restrictions on cross-border donations.
It features case studies on Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and Spain, which provide concrete insights on the regulation of fundraising in countries from different regions and with different legal system and philanthropic cultures.
The report covers 16 countries from all regions of Europe; 21 international and regional documents; 65 laws and regulations; 101 secondary resources; 30 links and websites; 3 case studies.
This report is a first step towards further research to assess the impact and implementation of legislation and self-regulation fundraising. A summary is available: http://ecnl.org/publications/regulatory-framework-fundraising-europe/

As feminist funds, Mama Cash and Urgent Action Fund know that collective action by women, girls, and trans people is changing the world. Today, the global political and social landscape is becoming increasingly repressive, xenophobic, patriarchal and extremist. It is urgent to provide support to unapologetically progressive and feminist movements led by those most excluded and impacted.
This report is a tool, resource, and testimony to inform the understanding of how closing space, in all its forms, has a gendered impact. Its aim is to bring value to the conversations and collaborations around the closing space phenomenon.

An April 2017 publication commissioned by Brot für die Welt and authored by Ben Hayes looks at The impact of international counterterrorism on civil society organisations, in particular, the role of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in setting international standards that affect the way in which civil society organisations are regulatedby nation-states, their access to financial services, and their obligations to avoid proscribed organisations and other entities deemed to pose a 'terrorism' risk. The report makes 11 recommendations to civil society organisations, national and regional parliamentary committees, national governments and the FATF.

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About These Reports

The EFC Virtual Library, powered by IssueLab, includes over 700 free-to-download publications from a range of organisations and publishers, including the EFC, on the topics of philanthropy, the management of foundations and the areas they are involved in and support.
As an EFC member you can send us your publications for inclusion in the library which will also be added to the global IssueLab network where they will be made available to an extended audience, including users of Worldcat, the global catalogue used by tens of thousands of libraries.
For questions or assistance, please contact the EFC Virtual Library.